Friday, 27 May 2016

First Impressions | NYX

NYX has been popping up in UK Boots stores! The brand has been available in the UK for a wee while (Selfridges, ASOS, Feel Unique) but only recently have I had the urge to get my mitts on their stuff (I'm blaming a certain Leeds-based bestie for getting me all excited). Shock horror, I've actually never tried any NYX products before. Those YouTube beauty gurus are all over NYX and as they're such an affordable brand I decided to give them a go and try a few things out for myself.

First up, I was in need of a bright and bold metallic shadow, so when I spotted the prismatic shadows I had to make the tricky decision of which shade to buy. I went for 'Fireball' as it's unlike anything I already own; a copper orange bursting with shimmer. This shadow has such amazing pigmentation, I applied it by tapping it on to the lid with a finger to build up a strong colour. It certainly didn't take long and the product was buttery soft, not at all chalky, and fall out was non-existent. I applied this over a primer and found it lasted really well without fading or creasing for a good number of hours.

NYX are famous for their creamy lip products. Everyone seems to be going wild over the matte lip colours but as I have so many liquid lipsticks as it is I restrained myself and opted to try out the butter gloss instead. I'm not a big lip gloss fan. Just the thought of them makes my hair stick to my face. But I do love how glossy lips look on other people. I did my research and went for the shade 'Tiramisu' it's so true these butter glosses smell wonderful. Like a warm creme brulee. Tiramisu is one of those 'your lips but better' shades, so it's super easy to wear on an everyday basis or pair with a darker eye in the evening. I'm very tempted to try other NYX lip products now, especially the soft matte lip creams.

Here we have the NYX eye crayon in 'Milk'. Apparently this is one of 'those' products that always sells out and is insanely popular with beauty bloggers and makeup artists. I had no idea when purchasing it, I just needed a white eye liner. I've since looked up different ways to use this pencil and there are hundreds! I've seen people use it to highlight the inner corner or the eye or under the brows. I've also tried it as an eye shadow base to really emphasize a bold colour (such as Fireball). It's very soft and glides on smoothly. It seems to last well in the waterline but as it's a chunky crayon it can get a bit messy over your lashes. So far so good, but I will need to make an effort to remember to use it.

I've been wanting to buy a makeup setting spray for a while but didn't want to shell out for something I had zero experience of using. This one was only £7 and NYX do a matte version too. I've only used this product twice and can't say for certain if it's going to be something I can't live without. But I do like using it as my last step in the morning and how refreshing it is to mist over the face. It seems to stave off the dreaded forehead shine and I've found foundation doesn't gather around my nose as much when I use this. There's an ever-so-slight tightening feeling once this dries on the skin which I like; it feels like it's doing something. But this wears off quite quickly so it isn't mask-like. As for it being 'dewy' I'm not sure. It doesn't add any glow or shine to my face but it does seem to keep my skin and makeup hydrated, minimizing the dry patches. Only time will tell with this one!

I have a couple of the matte lip creams and love them! I might have to get that eyeshadow stick because I'm getting so frustrated with my current primer doing nothing for the colour of my eyeshadows and that may just do the trick!